I can see Bertuzzi re-signing if he REALLY still wants to play, but it would be for pennies. I'd put all my money on him retiring. He clearly still has that natural skill, just no gas left in the tank.

I wouldn't doubt a Cleary re-signing at all. He's obviously the mentor for the NA kids we have that the Wings want, as ineffective as he might be on the ice. Not only that, but Holland is probably tooting his own horn around the office for signing him to that last minute 1 year deal for $1.75. Had the cap been different, we all know Holland would have signed him at something 2-2.5 for 3 years. Now if Holland's going to re-sign him it will be for cheaper than 1.75 and we won't have to blow years worth of money on him like we have with Sammy.

Until the Wings get a few healthy bodies back, it's pointless to even worry about Bert,Sammy, Cleary, etc. Those guys aren't the reason we are losing. While the kids have played relatively well, they certainly aren't carrying the team like everyone thought they could.

totally agree with you playmaker I have also stated that the kids with the exception of tatar this year have not done what everyone kept saying they could I am not a cleary bert or sammy lover at all cant stand Sammy or cleary but they do have a lot of commitment in the team might not find a way to show it on the scoresheet but nevertheless some of the kids are not nhl capable I see tatar, jurco and sheahan as potential but goose and andy to me could be packaged and Id be ok with it if we could use those to get someone who IS capable of bringing alittle more muscle to the second or 1st line and score some goals. hell as much as a lot of ppl would hate me for saying helm would be on my list as well while his still valueble and the window is getting smaller every time he goes down to another GROIN injury

What has Samuelsson done that you are qualifying as 'pissing off everyone in and outside the organization'?

Please use factual information only to backup your statement.

I would assume he means claiming injury during the offseason so the Wings couldn't buy him out. But I don't have all the details on that situation. Seems a silly rule anyway to not be able to buy someone out because they're injured.

There's no way Sammy ends up retiring mid-season, and even if he did it provides no cap relief for the team given he's on a 35+ contract. I'm still holding out hope that Kenny somehow manages to find a team willing to take him in a trade & that Sammy would be willing to go in order to play, but I'm not holding my breath.

And with the Cleary mentions, I'm calling it... He will be re-signed next season to a 2 or 3 year deal & he will get a raise with the cap going up. Granted I don't want it to happen, I just think it will.

No. He will not retire. He can't retire and save the team money. He is over 35. His cap hit and salary are carved in stone.

He's here for the nights where we have someone who can't go at the last minute. The rest of the time he sits in the press box.

He's not going to retire. We're not going to find a trade for him. We can't buy him out until the end of the season, and that would be pointless since his contract expires then anyway.

The kids are getting plenty of chances to play with all of the injuries. The only one that he's hurting is Tootoo, who would be up full-time if we could afford him.

Once the roster limit is lifted, we will never see him again. Until then, he's like those extra jeans you keep in a drawer just in case you need to paint or something and you don't want to ruin your real clothes. Yes, they take up space, but they aren't really hurting anything.

I would assume he means claiming injury during the offseason so the Wings couldn't buy him out. But I don't have all the details on that situation. Seems a silly rule anyway to not be able to buy someone out because they're injured.

Right. And what I am looking for would be.....

1) Proof that Samuelsson lied about the injury

2) Proof that he would have been bought out if he had been healthy (or had not lied about being healthy, if that was the case)

3) Proof that anyone inside the organization is pissed off about the situation

I seem to be the only one who thinks this but I think Bertuzzi has been really bad...

He makes bonehead passes and takes bad penalties, and of course hes terribly slow. Doesn't do anything on defence and when he does he tends to take that penalty.

On a positive note hes basically all we have when it comes to a net front presence, and hes decent when playing with Z and D together as he seems to be more confident

You aren't alone -- I completely agree with you about Bertuzzi. He consistently has quality linemates and PP time, yet contributes hardly anything offensively.

Everyone focuses on Sammy and Cleary (rightfully so), but Bertuzzi has only been marginally better than those two. I would prefer all three to be healthy scratches when/if the Wings start getting bodies back. Sheahan, Jurco and Glendening all bring much more to the team already than those three.

Needless to say, I will be very upset if any of these guys are back next season.

heck if someone, would offer me something like that I would gladly take it *g*

To be honest I'm far more envious of the players that actually play in the league. But that's me.

"The leader must never close the gap between himself and the group. If he does, he is no longer what he must be. He must walk a tightrope between the consent he must win and the control he must exert."Vince Lombardi

When asked who won, Babcock said, “Well it doesn’t really matter as long as you don’t lose. It’s like going bear hunting, you take a slow guy with you in case the bear is hungry.”

What has Samuelsson done that you are qualifying as 'pissing off everyone in and outside the organization'?

Please use factual information only to backup your statement.

I'm referring to his faking an injury to avoid being bought out. Fans clearly don't like him because of this, Babcock never plays him and he is never complimented by Holland or Babcock in interviews. Hence my comment about him wearing out his welcome with everyone.

It was clear Sammy was a buyout target. To fans and pundits. He wasn't injured in his last game I don't think, yet he suddenly had a flareup of his pectoral injury the day before the buyout deadline.

As for being pissed, you have to read between the lines. When you see and hear and read lots of interviews of Babcock and Holland, you pick up on their speech patterns. He screwed their plans and neither of them have been as complimentary to him as they have been about, say, Cleary. It's also hard to see them being happy about having to keep him when it was his contract that prevented us from icing the team Holland and Babcock wanted. Well, that and Cleary, but again, neither has spares praise for Cleary.

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I don't think it was really all that clear. It seems like there were plenty of worthy candidates for a buyout. Bertuzzi and Tootoo for starters. There was a a great deal of talk regarding Samuelsson, but nothing was ever confirmed on him being a buyout candidate or with him faking an injury. I thought the one buyout was totally wasted on Colaiocovo. While he wasn't a star defenseman, his salary wasn't all that much of an anchor, and I think it would hurt us to have an experience dman for when injuries occur.

It's not like Samuelsson hasn't been given ample opportunity to do anything worthwhile. The Red Wings have six forwards out injured and he still finds himself as a healthy scratch tonight.

Sammy averages over 2 minutes per game on the powerplay. That's more than Tatar.

He's had his opportunities.

"The leader must never close the gap between himself and the group. If he does, he is no longer what he must be. He must walk a tightrope between the consent he must win and the control he must exert."Vince Lombardi

When asked who won, Babcock said, “Well it doesn’t really matter as long as you don’t lose. It’s like going bear hunting, you take a slow guy with you in case the bear is hungry.”